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Alum News - Vanessa Vallon, Nyu, To Honduras With Medical Brigade

Dear Young Angels Palisades,I hope you are all well! I hear you are doing great work in L.A. Good luck with your music festival. It's good you're making such a difference on the local level. My years as a YA gave me a lot of practice for what I'm doing at the end of the summer. I am going to Honduras with the NYU chapter of Global Medical Brigades, a student-run global health and sustainable development organization that establishes sustainable health initiatives and provides relief where there is limited access to healthcare. The current emphasis is in Central America , where sustainable health care is provided to more than 40 villages. With 75 chapters at universities in the U.S. and Canada, more than 3,000 student volunteers and health professionals have traveled to establish mobile clinics in under resourced communities. The NYU chapter will be serving the community near Nuevo Paraiso , Honduras . Honduras is a small country in Central America , approximately the size of Tennessee , with a population upwards of 6.7 million people. It's the second poorest country in Latin America ; an estimated 80% of the population lives in poverty. The unemployment rate soars at 35% and the average annual per capita income is just under $1000 per year. Education, health care and clean water are luxuries for the majority of the people there, and in the rural communities where GMB works, they are even scarcer. Poverty here results in preventable deaths, malnutrition and thousands of abandoned children living on the streets.By providing medical brigades every 6 months in these communities, the NYU chapter provides a model for sustainable health care in underserved villages. Along with doctors and other health professionals, we conduct preliminary needs assessment, treat patients to the highest ethical standards, sponsor referrals to those with needs beyond our capability, record data for the production of quantitative reports, and work to improve the water, sanitation, and economic infrastructures.In order to make this brigade a success, each student is responsible for fundraising in order to meet the fees of the necessary medications and materials. I could really use your help! To donate, simply click this link and follow the instructions:

Link to Vanessa's Campaignhttp://brigades.org/Donation/DonationLanding.aspx?projectId=724f1989-2cfa-4e2c-834f-40719fee5bcc&VolunteerId=0ae45870-1ee9-49cf-b37c-060c15355097Even if you can't contribute, I am glad you had a chance to read about what I'm doing. Keep up the great work you're doing in L.A. and bring your YA spirit with you to college. With love, Vanessa VallonCrossraods 2008NYU 2012